Ryan Albert

US Environmental Protection 

Agency

1/31/2012
 Ballast Water

 Exhaust Exhaust Gas Scrubber Effluent Gas Scrubber Effluent

 Oil to Sea Interfaces (product substitut

requirement)

 Administrative Changes and Efficiency 

Improvements

◦ Combined Reporting◦ Reducing Redundancy◦ Changes to Inspections Changes to Inspections
 Establish numeric limits set at a range equiva

proposed USCG Phase I limit as Technology-

Effluent Effluent Limit (same as International Maritim

Limit (same as International Maritime

Organization (IMO) limits)

◦ Expressed as instantaneous maximum

Large 

Organisms

(> 50μm)

Small 

Organisms

(>10μ and 

Toxigenic

Vibrio 

cholerae Eschericia li Intestinal (> 50μm) t i ( μ ≤50 μm) (O1 & 

O139)

coli enterococci

< 10 per 

m3

< 10 per 

ml

<1 cfu per 

100 ml

<250 cfu per 

100 ml

<100 cfu per 

100 ml

 Found numeric Water Quality-Based Effluent 

(WQBEL) infeasible to calculate

m ml 100 ml 100 ml 100 ml

( Q ) eas b e to ca cu ate
 Vessels for which the 

numeric numeric TBEL does not TBEL does not

apply; hence, limits are BMPs:

◦ Unmanned, unpowered barges◦ Confined Lakers◦ Short distance voyage vessels Short distance voyage vessels◦ Seagoing/Inland vessels with 

less than 8 cubic meters of 

ballast water ballast water

◦ Shipboard Technology 

Evaluation Program (STEP) 

vessels
 Exhaust gas scrubber effluent is waste water t

been used in cleaning vessel exhaust gases

 Make IMO voluntary guidelines mandatory Make IMO voluntary guidelines mandatory

◦ Guidelines include limits for pH, turbidity, nitrates, 

PAH compound

 Require monitoring Require monitoring

◦ Assure systems capable of meeting limits◦ IMO guidelines do not currently contain total PAH a

limits: ma

y y later find that limits ma

y need to be ad

 Currently applicable to a handful of vessels

◦ EPA trying to establish clear limits to provide certa

s

yp g stem o

perators and assure that dischar

ges are n

uncontrolled
 Oil to Sea interfaces include stern tube

thrusters thrusters hydraulic pitch propellers w

, hydraulic pitch propellers, w

rope lubrication, etc.

 Stern tubes alone have been estimated 

between 4.6 to 28.6 million liters of obetween 4.6 to 28.6 million liters of o

annually into ports worldwide

 Increasing mandate for use of “environmentall

y acce

ptable lubricants

( bl l h y p 

in US waters 

(vegetable oils, synt

hetic e

and polyalkylene glycols)

◦ For existing vessels, owner/operators must 

environmentally acceptable lubricants in all 

environmentally acceptable lubricants in all 

sea interfaces unless technologically infeasi

◦ New build vessels must use EALs in oil to se

interfaces
 Among other things, EPA is seeking co

on potential changes to the bilgewater discharge limits (primarily for new builvessels)

◦ For Existing Oceangoing Vessels:

 Same requirements as the 2008 VGP, with additional 

vessels greater than 400 GT to discharge within 1 nm vessels greater than 400 GT to discharge within 1 nm 

than 5 ppm (whether or not technologically infeasible 

◦ New Vessels

 Discharge within 3 nm if <5 ppm for all new build ve

Discharge within 3 nm if <5 ppm for all new build ve

400 GT, otherwise may pump onshore or discharge onm at a concentration less than 15 ppm

 See Pages 58 See Pages 58-70 of the VGP fact sheet 70 of the VGP fact sheet


Part 1 - Overview of 

 Eligible for coverage if le

79 feet and have less tha

Permit

Part 2 – Effluent 

Limitations and Rl d cubic meters of ballast w

 Slightly different structu

VGP

R

elate

d

Requirements

Part 3 – Monitoring 

and Recordkeeping VGP

◦ Draft Permit is less than 20 

long

◦ Most important information 

and Recordkeeping

Part 4 – Additional 

Requirements

Part 5

– State Specific Most important information 

◦ Discharge limits in the mid◦ Standard Permit Conditions 

Requirements toward the e

Part

5 State Specific

Requirements

Part 6 – DefinitionsPart 7 – sVGP contacts Requirements toward the e

 Organized by manageme

groups rather than by ditypes

Appendix A– Permit 

Authorization and Record of 

I ti FInspection 

Form
 www.epa.gov/npdes/vessels

◦ Permits, Fact Sheets, background, technical 

documents and studies, summaries, FAQs, other sources of information

 EPA 1/19/2012 Webcast (to be archive

EPA’s website by 2/9/2012)

 Presentations from EPA’s public hearin

be added to the docket by 2/6/2012)
 75 d P bli day 

P

ublic comment perid d o

d en

ds 

F b 

e

bruary 

2012

 Submit your VGP comments, identified by Do

No. EPA

-HQ

-OW

-2011

-0141, or

sVGP comm

identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-201by one of the following methods:

◦ www regulations gov www.regulations.gov: Follow the on : Follow the on

-line instructi

line instructi

submitting comments.

◦ Email: ow-docket@epa.gov.

◦ Mail: Ori

g p inal and three co

pies to: Water Docket,

Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 282Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460. 

◦ Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, Public Reading 

EPA Headquarters West Building Room 3334 130

EPA Headquarters West Building, Room 3334, 130

Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460. Sdeliveries are only accepted during the Docket’s nhours of operation, and special arrangements sho

d f d li i f b d i f ti

ma

de 

for 

d

eliveries o

f

boxe

d in

formation. 
 EPA is specifically seeking comment on t

provisions discussed above, in addition tspecific questions posed (see Dec 8 specific questions posed (see Dec. 8, 201notice for list)

 Permits, fact sheets, and additional infor

are avail bl t ilable at:

www.epa.gov/npdes/vessels